aS.. N wN, K f f K +5 t will we kill our animal friends? By ALAN KETTLER SIVEN A PILE of food, a hungry bear unhesitatingly womps into his meal and stuffs his stomach with the food, con- cerned only with satisfying his appetite. Should he consume his entire supply of food, leaving nothing to eat tomorrow, it does not matter to him; he lives only in the here and now. His chink- ing is immediate and s h o r t- sighted. Of all the world's animals, man is the only one capaole of projecting his thoughts into the future. He can ask himself, 'If I do this what will become of it tomorrow? How will what I do today affect tomorrow?" Man is a baffling creature, though. He displays minimal foresight in his relationships with the ten million other 'ypes of living beings on this planet of ours., als, including 44 mammals, 70 birds, 8 reptiles, 11 amphib- ians, and 55 fishes. Still more animals are in danger within the United States, although not over their entire ranges. The gloomy list is completed by 18 mammals, 42 birds, 10 reptiles, 6 amphibians, and 35 fishes, who are probably endan- gered, but for whom mnforma- tion is lacking. All told, 345 American animals may not be with us much longer. MANY factors account for the vast number of animals ap- proaching the great void. By far the most outstanding caus- es of animal population deple- tion are habitat destruc*ion and overexploitation. The first is directly proportional to man's increasing need for agricultural land, residential areas, and ;e- source consumption. Strip in- ing for coal transforms a thriv- The most outstanding cases of animal popu- lation depletion are habitat destruction and exploitation. Stripmining for coal trans- forms a thriving woodland into a landscape as bleak and lifeless as the moon. vASV.: }::"}"A:':"::}:';?:"}:}:^. .???r.. . . ..r?." ::} r{? ":y}}.' : THE MILWAUKEE JOURNAL 'Besides, the Communists spend more money to subvert democratically elected governments than we do!' Eighty-four years of editorial freedom Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan Thursday, February 6, 1975 News Phone: 764-0552 Man is making life so inhos- pitable that hundreds of ani- mals and tens of thousands of plants are threatened with im- mediate extinction. Man, engulf- ing the earth with his vast pop- ulation, industrial activities, and dimunition of its resources, is leaving no place for i t s wildlife to exist. AT PRESENT, according to the World Wildlife Fund, t h e leading animal conservation or- ganization in the world, aimost 800 species of higher animals are rare or endangered. Their listing includes about 280 mam- mals, 310 birds, 75 reptiles, 25 amphibians, and 75 freshwater fishes. While some of the animals are obscure except to zoologsts, many are well-known, includng the large cats, rhinocercses, whales, eagles, primates, and sea turtles. In the United States, m u c h wildlife is faring poorly against man. In 1973 the U.S. Office of Endangered Species named a total of 188 threatened anim- ing woodland into a landscape as bleak and lifeless as t h e moon.. Businesses shear away the tropical forest of Central Amer- ica, and in Indonesia logging operations have increased thir- teen-fold during the pmat seveal years. Also, our activities in Indochina resulted in the de- foliation of one-sixth of t h a t nation's forests, making such areas unsuitable for support- ing wildlife. Perhaps the greatest single horror is the clearing of virgin rain forests in the Amazon. With the completion of the Trans-Brazilian Highway, un- guided commercial and agricul- tural developments are proceed- ing there at a rapid pace. Be- cause this is the most species- rich, yet most delicate habitat in the world, the World Wild- life Fund has estimated that development there could cause the extinction of one inilion species. If trends continue and the scientists are correct. one- tenth of all living special will be snuffed out. THE SECOND greatest killer of the world's fauna is over- exploitation by, hunting. Al- though habitat destruction is an unavoidable activity to some degree, the commercial use of wild animals is exemplative of man's greed. Each year, poachers l'ill half of Africa's elephant population, their tusks becoming chessmen, jewelry and artistic carvings. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, wolves are kiled so that their fur can decorate coat collars. Not all animals are ivinted to death. Many find their way into this country as pets. Presently American imports of wild birds, mammals, and reptiles number over three million annually. But many animals die durii t h e cruel shipments (f-r every mon- key that makes it five die, and most die soon with inadequare care. And animals taken from the wilds represent lost bren!- ing potential, decimari i; poi-- ulations regardless of wh-Yher the creatures survive a. pets SPECIES extinction is roth- ing new. Evidence indicates that even Stone Age hunters re- moved animals from their en- vironment. But since the dc h of the dodo in 1600 the rate at which animals have become ex- tinct has accelerated rapidly. Since then 36 mammals and 94 birds have become memorios. James Fisher, writing for the International Union for the Con- servation of Nature, percjgive- ly observed, "Destroyed buld- ings can be rebuilt; destroyed works of art may post;ibly be replaced by new creaions; but every animal and every flower which becomes extinct is lost forever in the most absolute of all deaths." It's important to ma tnat these animals be sav-d. Wildife is important; the very (ver- exploitation and commercializa- tion of wild animals is an in- dicator of their valuae. 'Ineir existence provides us w i t h products, their absence no-hing. Forty thousand whales a i e killed by Japanese and Russian whalers each year for they: pro- tein. Seemingly intent on e- stroying every sizeable w.hale, they are oblivious to th: fact that allowing the whales to in- crease their numbers would leave them with even more pro- tein in the future. But if hunt- ed to extinction, whales w i 11 disappear as a protein scurce. A FURTHER consider-ation is that if we make the earth into a biological wasteland,the ra- tural systems of the earth will be so disrupted that v2 may he unable to survive. We often for- get we are part of the world's ecological system. And danger- ously, we are still unaware of what man-made disruptions and interferences will do to the re- mainder of the natural world. Finally, wildlife gives human life a spiritual flavor unexcel- led by anything else. It gives us an incredibly rich diversity of forms and manners to observe, ponder and delight uoan. A nd unless we disrupt nature, it will remain an infinitely complex, exerchanging, and self-perpet- uating system for us to enjoy. We need do nothing but protect it. Cleveland Amory, speaking here last December may have predicted the future when be said, "There will be a day when our descendants look back on the era, and liken it to the era of slave trading." Alan Kettler is a staff writer for the Editorial Page. 420 Moynard St., Ann Arbor, Mi. 48104 Need New U.S. Pot Law AS EVIDENCED by the vote on last year's local marijuana referen- dum, you'd be hard pressed to find many people in town who don't agree with the adage, "The threat of ar- rest is pot-smoking's greatest dan- ger." So if you get busted for pot within the city limits, by a city cop, the dangers of reefer smoking are lower than the national average. A federal weed law like Ann Ar- bor's would do much to reduce reefer risks from coast to coast. It's to this end that bills will soon be introduced in Congress which would remove penalties for the possession for per- sonal use or non-profit sale of up to three ounces of pot. The legislation's chances of passing are remote at best. BUT CONGRESSIONAL attitudes to- ward more lenient marijuana legislation have been steadily waxing more friendly over, the past few years. If the trend continues, we may before long have, if not a federal de- criminalization law, then a reduction of weed offenses from felonies to mis- demeanors. According to Keith Stroup of the National Organization for the Re- form of Marijuana Laws, a more per- missive pot bill may pass Congress next year in a move by Republicans to avoid marijuana legislation as a presidential campaign issue in 1976. So we would do well to try to influ- ence our representatives in Congress to look kindly towards a liberaliza- tion of the marijuana statutes. The easiest way to do this would be to write them urging them to vote for dope. Showing members of Congress that large portions of their consti- tuencies want pot penalties reduced might swing their sentiments. WRITE YOUR representatives: Sen. Philip Hart (Dem), Rm. 253, Old Senate Bldg., Capitol Hill, Wash- Letters to The Daily ington, D.C. 20515; Sen. Robert Griffin (Repub.), 353, Old Senate Bldg., Capitol Washington, D.C. 20515; and Rep.. Marvin Esch (Repub.), 412, Cannon Bldg., Capitol Washington, D.C. 20515. Rm. Hill, Rm. Hill, -THE DAILY STAFF expediency and 'U' values AT MONDAY'S LSA FACULTY meet- ing, President Robben Fleming exhorted the assembly to divorce po- litical and ethical concerns from academic assessment in debating the accreditation of ROTC classes. Per- haps the irony of making such a plea during the University's self-pro- claimed Values Year escaped him; but perhaps the evolutionary pres- sure of being a professional neutral and institutional bagman for most of his adult life has atrophied his moral sense to virtual extinction. Fleming has whooped along during his years at the University (and pre- sumably before) using expediency as a moral rule of thumb. Evidently it has worked well for him; but expedi- ence is a poor ethical framework for an intellectual community whose motto is "Knowledge, wisdom, and the courage to serve." By treating expediency as a desir- able goal, the University administra- tion has impoverished and alienated essential teaching, clerical, and pa- tient-care personnel, and engendered TODAY'S STAFF: the University's current manage- men-labor struggles; in addition, University bureaucracy proliferates like demented yeast because it is eas- ier to pay any given associate dean than figure out what he or she does. Buck passing becomes standard pro- cedure. In fact, unwillingness to make moral decisions allowed the ROTC credit issue to get as far as a faculty vote. FORTUNATELY, the faculty in their collective wisdom concluded that ethical issues can and should be con- sidered in making policy and proce- dure decisions. But expediency gener- ates its own inertia, so ethical people must constantly insist that human concerns be respected in resolving in- stitutional problems. Claims have been made that the morality of whatever works is appro- priate for conducting business; this position is clearly debatable. But this University is not a cartel for crank- ing out teaching hours, nor should it aspire to become one. We are a com- munity of ethical and intellectual concerns and values, and must pro- tect that. V ili fic1 To The Daily: AS A GRADUATE o University of Michigan, consider myself a ml servative. However, the of the past week have ed me to a flaming libe This letter is a writ mination against the sexism and racism re the, ludiorous "contract' ed to Mrs. Jewel Cobb. I- event taken place in th 1960's, the Administration ing would have been ro its foundation. The "co is a vilification and isc with the administration' clivity to eschew publi ment and confrontation. The era of surreptiti)m ities and infinite subterfu transpired to integrity a dor. What has happened progressive institution. this renowned, liberalt sity is fixated in the Wa stage. Dear old Freud have cut off his arm toc this University's behavi We have all lost in not Mrs. Cobb. In the name play, Billy Frye should fered the same contrac the tenure, which he now be rescinded. I am no enough to make Fler scapegoat. Perhaps I am enough to hope a famsii this event never again Let it serve as an aduml from a steaming, silaat ity. -Louis Saslaw February 4 To The Daily: I AM ABSOLUTELY o by the photo which appe the front page of your S Feb. 2 issue - MOUSEI SE INDEED! I will be never to involve myself family with the future d humane medicine. One w if the poor rodents were and frozen quickly or ju ped into the frig. I've hea laboratory animals are us sometimes abused, but1 the grossest conduct I'v heard of. I, personally,a palled!! -H1. Louise Procto Sr. Exec. Secy . College of Pharm Febrnrv 4 ation at Rosh Haniqra. The caption explained to us that he had ft h e wounded a Palestinian and then o still burned him to death with a Id con- phosphorous grenade. O r. l y actions afterstelling of the actions of chang- the Israeli soldier, do yo t men- chang- tion that two Israelis were